WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.679 Ruth. So about once a month we'll get to go to a totally different genre, a different point in 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:15.240 redemptive history, and we get to see the same glorious plan of salvation. 00:00:21.699 --> 00:00:26.660 Thanks for your patience. I put my bookmark in the wrong spot. All right, Ruth chapter one. 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:36.620 Today we're going to read verses one through fourteen. Ruth chapter one, verses one through fourteen. 00:00:38.340 --> 00:00:46.320 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah 00:00:46.320 --> 00:00:53.820 went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was 00:00:53.820 --> 00:01:01.880 Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi. And the names of his two sons were Malon and Chilion. 00:01:02.740 --> 00:01:11.140 They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:18.740 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:26.919 Moabites wives. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth. They lived there about 00:01:26.919 --> 00:01:35.539 ten years. And both Malon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her 00:01:35.539 --> 00:01:44.479 husband. And she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab. For she had heard 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:52.359 in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she sat out from 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:59.359 the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:07.340 Judah. Verse 8, but Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, go return each of you to her mother's 00:02:07.340 --> 00:02:15.500 house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:22.900 that you may find rest, each of you, in the house of his husband. She kissed them, and they lifted up 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:30.740 their voices and wept. And they said to her, no, we will return with you to your people. But Naomi said, 00:02:30.740 --> 00:02:37.840 turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:45.300 your husbands? Turn back, my daughters. Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should 00:02:45.300 --> 00:02:51.600 say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore 00:02:51.600 --> 00:02:58.820 wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:08.659 exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. Verse 14, 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:19.240 then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 00:03:20.459 --> 00:03:21.299 Let's pray. 00:03:21.300 --> 00:03:34.300 Father, we confess that you are eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in your power and perfection, 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:43.800 goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth, that nothing happens except through you and by your 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:49.900 will. And we pray that you will teach us, Lord, once again today from the book of Ruth, 00:03:49.900 --> 00:03:58.120 that you are the sovereign God who is so patient to call sinners to repentance. And we thank you that 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:05.360 your spirit is calling those who are far away even now and that that strong hand of the Lord is with 00:04:05.360 --> 00:04:11.560 your people through every circumstance. Help us to trust in you, Lord. From your word we pray. Amen. 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:13.920 Amen. All right, you may be seated. 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:25.579 Well, today I want to show you from these first 14 verses in Ruth 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:34.939 how God has always had one desire for his people. And it's this, it's that sinners would turn to God 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:42.160 and that having found God, you would cling to him. So that's what, that's the message for today. It's why 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:50.759 a true believer will turn and cling to Christ. And it comes to us from the tale of the prodigal 00:04:50.759 --> 00:04:58.000 and the convert. These two women, Naomi, I see her as a prodigal and I want to show you why. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:05.360 And then Ruth, she's the convert. And it's wonderful to be able to behold together the gospel of Jesus 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:10.040 Christ. I hope you'll even be seeing hints and similarities to what we've seen in the gospel of 00:05:10.040 --> 00:05:17.680 John. When the Lord gives us a story, like this beautiful story in Ruth, which some have called the 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:25.379 book of Ruth the best short story ever written. It's, it's so rich. Every word is meaningful. And it's 00:05:25.379 --> 00:05:31.699 Hebrew narrative that just opens up depths of truth. And when God gives us a treasure like that, 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:37.719 this story that reveals who he is, the purpose is to train us and to teach us what his kingdom is 00:05:37.719 --> 00:05:43.920 really about. And think about, that's what Jesus did as well. In Luke chapter 15, Jesus came to earth 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:49.860 and he wanted to reveal the kingdom of heaven on earth so that all would believe in the goodness and 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:56.639 the kindness of the Father. In Luke chapter 15 especially, he gives us a number of parables and he 00:05:56.639 --> 00:06:04.560 walks through with the disciples the reality of the kingdom of heaven. The first parable, Jesus tells, 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:15.100 is of a lady who had lost a precious coin. And he told this parable that she found the coin and brought it 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:21.340 back and she invited everyone, rejoice with me for I have found the coin that I had lost. And then he 00:06:21.340 --> 00:06:28.340 says, here's what that parable relates to the kingdom of heaven. Just so I tell you, there is joy before 00:06:28.340 --> 00:06:35.600 the angels of God over one sinner who repents. And he followed that up with another parable of the 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:41.400 prodigal son. And I believe that that's what we see again in this story with Naomi and Ruth. 00:06:41.399 --> 00:06:51.120 Only the hungry turn to get bread from God's hand. You realize the father had laid out a banquet feast 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:58.279 and he had two sons. The proud son did not enjoy the feast with the father. It was the prodigal who 00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:05.439 was hungry. God had made that prodigal to to become hungry so he could feast with his father. What a 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:12.540 glorious promise. Only the hungry turn to get bread from God's hand. Well, let's walk through our text 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:19.319 today. Beginning first with the prodigal, Naomi. And the question I want you to think about in the 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:26.060 first nine verses is this. What makes a prodigal turn? And kids, maybe you've never heard that word 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:34.300 prodigal. What does that mean? A prodigal is an ungrateful, reckless, or wayward child who is still 00:07:34.300 --> 00:07:41.780 loved by the father. So every one of us is a prodigal until the father shows us his love in 00:07:41.780 --> 00:07:48.319 Christ. Like that wonderful little song we sing, I love kids, how you sing that so loud. Jesus said 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:55.319 that when I'm lost, he will come for me. And I believe that's what we see in this story. Naomi is lost 00:07:55.319 --> 00:08:03.959 in the father with his good strong hand. He comes for her, his prodigal daughter. Well, why was Naomi 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:10.000 lost? Let me try to show you that from these verses. First, I think she was lost, number one, because of the 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:16.139 sin that her leaders had brought on to make the whole country miserable. So the sin of her leaders 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:24.379 made Naomi's life hard. Look at verse one. We're told in verse one, in the days when the judges ruled. 00:08:24.379 --> 00:08:30.319 Now, if you were to plot out the history of redemption, this is a very specific time period 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:34.939 when the judges ruled before the first kings are introduced. It's about a 200-year span. 00:08:35.919 --> 00:08:41.200 And this book of Ruth is most likely written by Samuel. And you could even say if Samuel was that 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:45.179 prophet who anointed David, who would be the great king, the picture of Christ to come, 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:50.740 the reason he's giving us this story, it's almost like an origin myth. You know, this is the backdrop, 00:08:50.740 --> 00:08:56.519 the backstory for how King David came to be anointed. So it's a wonderful story that he gives us. 00:08:56.820 --> 00:09:02.159 But we're told this in the book of Judges during this time period. There was no king in the land. 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:09.399 Now look at verse one, Ruth one. There was also a famine in the land. This is not just a little record 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:15.019 of agriculture. This is saying there was severe hunger and famine so that everyone, no matter what part of the 00:09:15.019 --> 00:09:21.000 country you're from, you would be having to take desperate measures. And it was pervasive over the entire 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:27.399 country. Why did the people of Israel, when there was no king, have famine in the land? 00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:34.439 Well, it's because God had told them that if you fail to keep my law on the principle of works, 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:40.559 God had called Israel his adopted son and entered into this relationship where he will be their king, 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:46.639 their Lord. And if they disobey his law, which they agreed to follow, not only at Mount Sinai, but again 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:51.379 in Deuteronomy chapter five, that next generation that goes into the land, then they would be bringing on the 00:09:51.379 --> 00:09:59.199 curses for lawbreaking, which is exactly what they did. In Judges 21 verse 25, we read that everyone in this 00:09:59.199 --> 00:10:06.719 time did what was right in their own eyes. Why would this family of Naomi be any different? Everyone going around 00:10:06.720 --> 00:10:12.960 doing what seemed right in their eyes? Kids, can you imagine what your school would be like if every 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:18.360 kid got to go around doing what felt right in their eyes in that moment? Or if traffic were that way, 00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:24.360 it would be a scary, chaotic place to live, wouldn't it? Well, that's the land of Israel when God is not 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:32.899 their king. So their apostasy is what brought on this famine, this curse in the land. Proverbs 28 13, 00:10:32.899 --> 00:10:41.179 whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper. How could Israel, unrepentant transgressions, you 00:10:41.179 --> 00:10:46.039 know, putting their middle finger up to heaven, how could they expect to prosper and to be blessed by God? 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:53.159 There's no way. Well, look at verse one again now. So within this land of famine, there was a man 00:10:53.159 --> 00:11:01.319 of Bethlehem in Judah. See, Judah is the tribe you want to be from. This tribe is very well established. 00:11:01.320 --> 00:11:07.240 They had driven out their enemies better than most. They had the fortified city. And the town of 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:12.240 Bethlehem was like, you know, the best of the suburbs around Jerusalem that you could be in. 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:19.080 But the curse was so bad that even Bethlehem in Judah was experiencing this famine. And Bethlehem 00:11:19.080 --> 00:11:27.020 means house of bread. So you think Bethel, you know Bethel, it means house of God. And Bethlehem means 00:11:27.019 --> 00:11:31.939 house of bread. In other words, if there's going to be a drought and famine, Bethlehem should be one of 00:11:31.939 --> 00:11:37.139 the last places to run out of food. That's the house of bread. And even there, this man was in such 00:11:37.139 --> 00:11:43.559 poverty and hunger that he had no option. In Exodus chapter three, verse eight, we're told that this 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:49.879 would be a land flowing with milk and honey when God is their king. And look at where they've gotten 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:57.700 themselves now under the misery of sin and rebellion. Well, not only did the wickedness of the nation and 00:11:57.700 --> 00:12:04.460 the rebellion of the leaders make Naomi's life hard, we also see that the decisions of her own family 00:12:04.460 --> 00:12:12.279 made her life even harder. Look at the last part of verse one. Her family, being so desperate, 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:21.100 went to sojourn in the country of Moab. If you have heard anything about Moab from the Bible, 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:28.759 none of it will be good. Moab began as a place founded on the incest of Lot with one of his daughters. 00:12:30.079 --> 00:12:36.759 It was the place where that Jabba the Hutt, that fat king, was stabbed by the judge Ehud and the dung 00:12:36.759 --> 00:12:45.019 came out. It's the place that worshipped fertility gods because as much as Bethlehem was a house of 00:12:45.019 --> 00:12:50.139 bread, if you were to look out across the Jordan, you'd be able to see the green of Moab. So the 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:55.000 grass was literally greener on the other side of the Jordan, outside of the land of God's kingdom. 00:12:56.179 --> 00:13:01.679 And because they valued so much and they worshipped their crops and their fertility, this would have 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:06.419 been a big part of their worship. It would have most likely included forced prostitution, 00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:12.700 and sensuality. So this family walks away from the kingdom of God. They turn their back 00:13:12.700 --> 00:13:19.439 on Bethlehem, on the place where God ruled over Jerusalem, and they sojourn. They went as pilgrims 00:13:19.439 --> 00:13:26.659 to live in tents and camp as those in extreme poverty in the wickedest, darkest country nearby. 00:13:28.179 --> 00:13:35.059 That's why the decisions of Naomi's family made her life even harder. Well, in verse one, we're told 00:13:35.059 --> 00:13:40.759 he and his wife and his two sons, and then we're given their names. And I think this solidifies the 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:51.739 point. Look at verse two. The name of the man was Elimelech. Elimelech means God is my king. So Naomi's 00:13:51.739 --> 00:13:59.739 husband's name was God is my king. Naomi's name means pleasantness. You can picture a kingdom where it's at 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:07.320 rest. There's no threats. You can finally enjoy all that you have. Pleasant, relaxed, restful. So do you 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:15.200 see the connection when these two together, when God is your king, you enjoy rest? And then the names 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:20.720 of their sons show us how they've actually got the opposite of us in this point in their lives. The names 00:14:20.720 --> 00:14:27.519 of the two sons were malon, which means sickness, and chileon, which means pining, wasting away, 00:14:28.040 --> 00:14:33.879 finished. So instead of having God as their king and enjoying the pleasantness of blessing in Christ, 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:39.820 or I'm sorry, in the Lord and God their king, they are pining away, wasting, they're finished, 00:14:40.160 --> 00:14:44.040 they're in sickness, they're in misery. That's the condition of this family. 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:53.279 I want to draw a few parallels here first. Do you see in this little family some reminders of other 00:14:53.279 --> 00:14:59.019 themes we know throughout the Bible? Think of Adam and Eve in the garden. When God is their king and 00:14:59.019 --> 00:15:04.679 they're walking in obedience with them, they enjoy blessing and abundance. When they rebel against God, 00:15:04.759 --> 00:15:10.360 their creator, they're banished to the east, again, traveling outside of the promised land, 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:19.740 and they're in misery and death. Now the truth for us, everybody, is that we are also under a cursed 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:27.419 nation and a cursed king. Our first king was Adam. We are born under the sin and the misery that Adam 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:33.060 brought by his fall into this world, and you feel that still today, don't you? We feel the pain. 00:15:33.740 --> 00:15:40.340 We feel the shadows deepen because this world is cursed by Adam's sin. He was our first representative 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:47.480 head. But then maybe on top of that, you feel pain and suffering in your own life because of your 00:15:47.480 --> 00:15:52.440 own decisions, because of even decisions of your family, maybe your parents or your kids. 00:15:53.920 --> 00:16:01.620 So we can understand that Naomi's life could feel extremely heavy and hurtful and miserable 00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:08.240 away from the rule of God over her life. But I want to encourage you, this is not the end of the story, 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:14.100 and it's not the end of the story for you either. If God has brought hardship into your life, 00:16:14.379 --> 00:16:20.700 if he is making you walk through a wilderness time, or if it feels like you're so deep in the 00:16:20.700 --> 00:16:26.879 worldliness of this age and the sin and there's no hope, just remember it's because he loves you, 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:30.700 that he will never take his hand off of you even through that darkness. 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:40.960 It's only the hungry who will turn to get bread from God's hand. And yes, Jeremiah, we're told God 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:48.440 lets his people hunger. He lets them to feel the hunger without him so that they will feast once 00:16:48.440 --> 00:16:55.060 again on his covenant grace. So if God is making you hunger, even in this season of life, it's because 00:16:55.059 --> 00:17:03.119 he will sustain you and he will feed you with the bread that only he can bring. Well, for Naomi, 00:17:03.439 --> 00:17:09.240 before she turns, before she turns away from Moab and begins to see how God's sovereignty will sustain 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:17.000 her, first God does one more thing. He has to strip away from her life all these other false sources of 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:24.240 security. First, I want to show you how her own heritage had to be stripped away. Her heritage, 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:30.299 her parents' faith, could not save her. Look at verse 2. We're told that this family, they were 00:17:30.299 --> 00:17:37.259 Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah. What does it mean to be an Ephrathite? Well, it's really the same 00:17:37.259 --> 00:17:43.279 as being from Bethlehem, but why give us both? I think it's to show what a rich heritage Naomi enjoyed. 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:51.900 In 1 Chronicles 4.4, we're told it was Caleb's wife who was named Ephrathah. And their firstborn, 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:57.980 her was the firstborn of Ephrathah, and he was called the father of Bethlehem. So you just go back. 00:17:58.040 --> 00:18:04.100 Okay, the people were standing really in Moab, and they're looking out across the Jordan, and God brings 00:18:04.100 --> 00:18:08.780 them into the promised land, and they go and they conquer, and every tribe has their section. Caleb was 00:18:08.780 --> 00:18:14.759 one of those mighty men against the majority who stood along with Joshua trusting in God against the 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:20.640 giants of the land. And as they come in, Caleb is given this very favorable portion of land as a 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:28.220 blessing for trusting God. And it was Caleb's son then, her, and his mother was Ephrathah. So Caleb, 00:18:28.360 --> 00:18:33.840 the man of God who trusted in God, and his wife Ephrathah were the ones who got to have Bethlehem, 00:18:33.900 --> 00:18:40.400 the house of bread. And that's the heritage that Naomi came from. But we're seeing she had to give 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:47.340 all that up and walk away now and show up as a nobody, as an unknown foreigner in a distant, dark 00:18:47.339 --> 00:18:53.279 land. The previous blessings of the previous generation, their sacrifices, their faith, 00:18:53.759 --> 00:19:00.039 they had dried up for her. She needed to know, do you have a faith of your own? In verse 2, 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:07.220 we read that they went into the country of Moab and remained there. Remaining there means it wasn't 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:12.579 just a temporary measure just to survive for a couple months. It was setting up camp. We were giving up 00:19:12.579 --> 00:19:18.460 everything we had in the land that God promised to bless. This would be our home now. And then we see 00:19:18.460 --> 00:19:24.119 what follows in verse 3 is that her own family could not save her either. Her heritage wasn't 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:30.559 enough to save her, nor her own immediate family. Isn't it so easy to make our families an idol and to 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:37.740 put our hope and trust in our families? Look at verse 3. Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, 00:19:37.740 --> 00:19:47.620 and she was left with her two sons. God is my king. Elimelech is dead. God was no longer the king of 00:19:47.620 --> 00:19:53.839 Israel. They had rejected his lordship, and now God was not the king apparently of her home anymore. 00:19:55.180 --> 00:20:01.799 She had lost not only her husband, but also now she will lose her two sons. Now these two sons, 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:05.980 they were told in verse 4, they took wives. The name of one was Orpah, the other was Ruth. 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:11.319 Ruth. Orpah means the back of the neck. So picture, you're having a conversation with someone, 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:15.680 you're looking each other in the eyes, and that person ends the conversation, turns their back to 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.420 you, and walks away from you. You're not seeing their eyes anymore, you're seeing the back of their 00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:26.400 neck. So Orpah's name means that. It really means to turn around figuratively. And Ruth means companion 00:20:26.400 --> 00:20:33.860 or friend. It also means compassion or grace. And they lived there about there in Moab about 10 years 00:20:33.859 --> 00:20:41.579 without the husband. So here's a widow, an immigrant, very poor, as a foreigner in a very dark, oppressive 00:20:41.579 --> 00:20:48.959 land with her family and no husband. And then both, look at verse 5, both Malon and Chilion, her two sons, 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:56.939 died so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. The darkness got darker. 00:20:56.940 --> 00:21:04.039 The emptiness of this widow, who I'm sure thought of her husband every day, got even emptier. 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:11.900 Sinclair Ferguson helped me to see how by setting this beautiful story up in such a dark backdrop, 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:21.720 it really underlines that the saving purposes of God ordinarily begin in the hidden and sometimes 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:31.100 dark providences of God. But God's hand is near his people in the darkness in order for his grip to 00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:37.620 take hold of them in the darkness. If you're in a dark room, you can't see anything and you need to 00:21:37.620 --> 00:21:43.220 find a way out of there. You can't go fumbling around, you'll hurt yourself. You need God to grab 00:21:43.220 --> 00:21:49.519 your hand in that darkness and take hold of you and lead you out of there. And I agree with Sinclair 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:55.420 Ferguson. Isn't that so true? In your darkest moments of your life, those moments when you felt the most 00:21:55.420 --> 00:22:02.379 empty and hopeless, God once again shows himself faithful. He takes your hand in the dark. When you 00:22:02.379 --> 00:22:10.579 can't see anything else, no way out, and he leads you one step at a time. We'll look at verse 6 next. 00:22:11.879 --> 00:22:19.139 We're told, then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return. If you have a pencil, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:28.379 underline that word, return. This is the Hebrew verb shub. And just in the span of the next six 00:22:28.379 --> 00:22:35.700 verses, the author will be using this same verb six times. He's hitting it over and over. Turn, 00:22:35.819 --> 00:22:41.339 return, go back, turn back, return. He uses this verb to show you this is really what this chapter is 00:22:41.339 --> 00:22:48.720 about. It's about returning. And why is that so important? Well, one scholar pointed out, in the 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:54.940 Hebrew Bible, in the Old Testament, there is one word, the main word used for conversion in the Old 00:22:54.940 --> 00:23:02.940 Testament. And it's this verb right here, to return. It means to turn back to God's covenant of grace. 00:23:03.360 --> 00:23:10.700 It means to repent, to be brought back around, to go on the right path. So do you see what is happening 00:23:10.700 --> 00:23:17.420 beneath the surface? This is a narrative of a surprising conversion. The prodigal is being 00:23:17.420 --> 00:23:26.500 brought back home. What makes a prodigal turn back? She had to be stripped away of all those things that 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:34.220 were false sources of hope. Her heritage could not save her. Her family could not save her. And there's 00:23:34.220 --> 00:23:43.259 one more thing that cannot save her. Look at verse six. She had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord 00:23:43.259 --> 00:23:51.940 had visited his people and given them food. Now, this verse doesn't give us many details, but seeing the 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:58.860 theme here is conversion. And knowing that Moab worshiped these pagan gods of fertility. Their idols 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:05.179 were all about the crops and fertility. She was in the fields of Moab. She was in the darkness, the midst 00:24:05.179 --> 00:24:12.159 of that idolatry, that worldliness of Moab, when the Lord witnessed to her. Look again at that verse. 00:24:12.639 --> 00:24:20.539 Verse six. She had heard. She had heard that the Lord had visited his people. 00:24:20.539 --> 00:24:29.700 Isn't it true that the Lord loves to visit his people? He loves to be near them. And when his people get to be and 00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:36.720 enjoy the Lord, what do they do? You witness. You share about it. You see the similarity with John chapter one? 00:24:37.299 --> 00:24:43.740 The Lord visits his people. And his people tell everyone they can about it. Well, that's Naomi. They witnessed her. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:50.159 She heard once again the Lord is showing his favor to sinners like us. And it's for you too, Naomi. 00:24:50.160 --> 00:24:57.380 Come back. You can be part of it. This is not who you are. You're not of this world. You don't belong here. 00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:04.120 You know that's not who you are. So she's in the fields and they witness to her. And she returns. 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:12.320 She returns. See, there's an application. When you come to the end of yourself, when God has stripped 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:21.159 everything away, you hear the good news that the favor of God is for you, yes, a rebel like you too, 00:25:21.740 --> 00:25:29.099 it's for you, you respond. How could you not respond? That's what we call the effectual call. The Holy 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:35.679 Spirit draws you. He shows you God is so gentle and kind and generous. How could you not want to be under 00:25:35.680 --> 00:25:45.560 his rule, under his kingdom? It's for you. Well, verse seven, I think, is confirming this, that she was 00:25:45.560 --> 00:25:53.220 repenting. Verse seven, she sat out from the place where she was. And if Moab represents worldliness and 00:25:53.220 --> 00:25:59.420 sin and idolatry, she got out of there. This is not where I need to be. I do not belong here. 00:25:59.420 --> 00:26:06.539 Verse seven says, with her two daughters-in-law, they went on their way to return. There it is again, 00:26:07.180 --> 00:26:13.460 to return to the land of Judah. So now do you see that picture? It's been reversed. Naomi now has her 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:19.920 back turned to Moab, the picture of darkness and worldliness and idolatry. And she is facing once 00:26:19.920 --> 00:26:28.620 again the land where God rules. He's calling her back. By the way, to get from Moab to Judah, 00:26:28.619 --> 00:26:34.500 you cross the Jordan River, and you're going to go near Jerusalem as you enter Judah. It's the exact 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:40.539 setting of John chapter one, where John was baptizing in the Jordan River. Jesus, as he went out into the 00:26:40.539 --> 00:26:45.119 wilderness, we don't know exactly, but it might have been this exact land. And do you remember, 00:26:45.339 --> 00:26:52.899 children, what little town was Jesus born in? Oh, little town of? Do you see the beauty of the gospel? 00:26:53.419 --> 00:26:58.199 You see how it's there? It's everywhere. It's everywhere we look. I want to tell you this quick little 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:04.319 illustration, because here we are, Parker, Colorado, 2022. Ruth, I mean, ancient, archaic, 00:27:04.380 --> 00:27:08.360 you know, Hebrew narrative. But it's everywhere in the world where the gospel goes forth. 00:27:09.200 --> 00:27:14.920 We talked to some missionaries in the Amazon area. It was an unreached people group. And some 00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:17.940 missionaries labored there for years and years and years, brought them the gospel. We're working 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:22.480 to get them a Bible that they could read. Some of them spoke Portuguese so they could help. And then 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:27.220 because of family sickness and lack of supplies and stuff, that missionary family left. Years later, 00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:32.720 another missionary family got called to go to that same tribe. And God, by his word, and that initial 00:27:32.720 --> 00:27:38.759 witness of the gospel to that tribe, he had began to grow this little seeds of faith and understanding. 00:27:38.900 --> 00:27:43.839 And they needed to be taught and discipled. But they had a word that they used to describe conversion. 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:49.880 And it was for them, like picture, see this carpet right down the middle of the pews? For them, 00:27:49.940 --> 00:27:54.640 if you're going to go hunt, all the men and the young boys, you go out to go hunt and bring back food. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:00.940 And so you go on this trail through the thick jungle. And then everybody kind of disperses, 00:28:01.020 --> 00:28:05.460 you chase stuff down. But someone would always stay on the main trail, on the main path. And they had a 00:28:05.460 --> 00:28:12.060 special call they would do to call you back to the trail. And this tribe said, that's conversion. 00:28:12.860 --> 00:28:18.680 It's when you hear the call back to the trail that leads you home. Isn't that amazing? The same gospel 00:28:18.680 --> 00:28:28.580 from Ruth to John to a tribe in the Amazon jungle. And you know why? Only the hungry, only the prodigals 00:28:28.580 --> 00:28:35.080 who are humbled and who are no longer proud or self-sufficient, it's only the hungry who turn 00:28:35.080 --> 00:28:43.880 to get bread from the hand of God. Hercules Collins in our Orthodox Catechism says this, 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:52.740 what is involved in genuine repentance or conversion? Answer, two things. Dying away of the old self, 00:28:53.320 --> 00:29:01.560 forsaking Moab, turning away from the world and sin. That's number one. And the coming to life in the 00:29:01.560 --> 00:29:09.320 new, the new self that's being recreated by God himself. So what is dying away of the old and what 00:29:09.319 --> 00:29:17.399 is coming to life in the new? Well, dying away of the old is to be genuinely sorry, repentant, hating sin. 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:27.539 To desire God more and more is the way of life. To wholeheartedly enjoy God through Christ. And then 00:29:27.539 --> 00:29:33.720 to delight in living in his kingdom, letting him bear every good work in your life. What a glorious 00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:40.240 gospel we get to enjoy. I want to show you a psalm. And if you remember nothing else, I hope that you'll 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:46.240 go back and read this psalm for yourself as your prayer. Psalm 118. Please turn there in your Bible. 00:29:47.759 --> 00:29:56.059 Psalm 118. Although this psalm was written much later, many of the psalms were likely organized under 00:29:56.059 --> 00:30:01.539 the rule of King David, pulling in a lot of musicians and poets and with the blessing of the Spirit, 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:06.940 they were all arranged to be a prayer book and a song book for the church. And if it's the same 00:30:06.940 --> 00:30:12.859 Holy Spirit, which it is, that was drawing Naomi back, that same Holy Spirit inspired these words, 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:17.980 even though it came much later, I can just see this being the cry of her heart, even if she couldn't 00:30:17.980 --> 00:30:29.159 put words to it. Psalm 118. Look at verse 14. Verse 14. So picture Naomi, maybe even after she has 00:30:29.160 --> 00:30:37.400 crossed the Jordan River, climbing back up the slope into the land of Judah. Verse 14. The Lord is my 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:45.840 strength and my song. He has become my salvation. Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the 00:30:45.840 --> 00:30:53.340 righteous. The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The right hand of the Lord exalts. 00:30:53.339 --> 00:30:59.839 The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. Now look at verse 17. After all she's gone through in her 00:30:59.839 --> 00:31:09.279 miserable life, I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has 00:31:09.279 --> 00:31:19.459 disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. May that be your prayer in a hard time as 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:26.000 well. Your comfort is in the strong hand of the Lord who does valiantly for his glory. 00:31:27.140 --> 00:31:33.340 Well, that's of the prodigal, the tale of the prodigal, but there's one other tale, one other 00:31:33.340 --> 00:31:39.160 story, and it's the story of the convert. And I want you to pay attention to this. It won't come to the 00:31:39.160 --> 00:31:47.680 very end. What does a true convert do? If Naomi was the prodigal, that person who was still loved by the 00:31:47.680 --> 00:31:52.960 father even though she was far away, and he would draw her back, Ruth, I believe, is a picture of a 00:31:52.960 --> 00:32:02.120 convert. Look at verse 8. What does a true convert do? Number one, a true convert sees the way of life. 00:32:03.420 --> 00:32:08.980 First, God has to open the eyes of the blind. You can't walk with God until he's shown you this is the 00:32:08.980 --> 00:32:16.660 way of life. Look at verse 8. Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, go, return, underline that word 00:32:16.660 --> 00:32:22.040 again. Return each of you to your mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt 00:32:22.040 --> 00:32:27.620 with the dead and with me. Verse 9, the Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of 00:32:27.620 --> 00:32:34.779 her husband. What Naomi's saying here is this. She's saying, if you go this direction with me, you leave 00:32:34.779 --> 00:32:42.340 everything behind. It's going to mean no security, no safety, no guaranteed work or income. You have my 00:32:42.339 --> 00:32:48.959 blessing. I will graciously bless you to just stay right where you are. Verse 9, Naomi kissed them, 00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:57.419 and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, no, we will return with you to your 00:32:57.419 --> 00:33:07.699 people. Now, how many ladies, how many daughters-in-law said this? You can answer. Yeah, right now in verse 9, 00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:12.900 two said, right? They said that. They both said that. So, we're going to find out only one of the 00:33:12.900 --> 00:33:18.740 two was a true convert. Even if God was letting both of them see this is the way of life, only one 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:26.120 of them would truly walk in that way. Well, the second point is this. Number two, a true convert counts 00:33:26.120 --> 00:33:31.480 the cost of walking in the way of life. Not only do you have to see it, you also do have to count 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:38.240 the cost. Look at verse 11. Naomi said, turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet 00:33:38.240 --> 00:33:44.039 sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters. In verse 13, she says, 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:51.920 would you therefore refrain from marrying for my sake? No, my daughters. See, she's helping them assess. 00:33:52.059 --> 00:33:59.059 You walk in this way. You could be a widow forever. I can give you nothing. There's nothing I have to give 00:33:59.059 --> 00:34:05.679 to you to make this worth it for you. There would have to be some deeper calling for you to do this. 00:34:06.659 --> 00:34:13.400 So, to me, I believe Naomi is now witnessing to Ruth. Remember, Ruth would have grown up in Moab. 00:34:13.860 --> 00:34:18.340 She would have known nothing about the true Lord except that this family would have taught her and 00:34:18.340 --> 00:34:24.460 perhaps preached it to her to the extent that they still believed. You could even say it was for Ruth 00:34:24.460 --> 00:34:30.699 that God drove this family to such misery. They were missionaries. They didn't, maybe not willfully, 00:34:30.780 --> 00:34:37.260 it was more like a Jonah, but they were sent there by God to bring Ruth back. Ruth was to be really the 00:34:37.260 --> 00:34:42.760 one that God would use and bless. See, the promised seed of the Messiah would not come from Naomi at all. 00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:50.659 It would come from this Moabitess. And you know where the story goes. If Boaz is a picture of Christ 00:34:50.659 --> 00:34:56.159 because he's the kinsman redeemer, he's the one who becomes like you, your kin, in order to redeem you 00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:04.339 and save you, that's Boaz. And Boaz marries Ruth. So Ruth, therefore, is a picture for us of the global 00:35:04.339 --> 00:35:13.019 international church. She's from Moab. No national blessings coming her way, but God, in her darkness, 00:35:13.019 --> 00:35:25.340 finds her. Jesus said that he will come for me. Ruth could sing that song. God came for Ruth. What a 00:35:25.340 --> 00:35:36.480 wonderful gospel. Well, here's why I think Naomi was witnessing to Ruth. I think that not only did Naomi 00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:44.099 have to see the way of life, not only did she have to count the cost of following, a true convert also 00:35:44.099 --> 00:35:55.679 has to learn a high view of the sovereignty of God. Look at verse 13. Naomi says, it is exceedingly bitter 00:35:55.679 --> 00:36:05.539 for me, to me, for your sake. Now, underline this part, that the hand of God, the hand of God 00:36:05.539 --> 00:36:14.920 has gone out against me. In our songbooks, and we prayed moments ago, that God is the creator 00:36:14.920 --> 00:36:23.659 and sustainer of everyone and everything, and that nothing happens, nothing happens, except through 00:36:23.659 --> 00:36:30.340 him and by his will. I believe Naomi, right here, is preaching this high view of God's sovereignty 00:36:30.340 --> 00:36:37.960 to Ruth. In Joshua chapter 4, listen to all the similarities of language. Joshua chapter 4, verse 23. 00:36:38.720 --> 00:36:46.460 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord 00:36:46.460 --> 00:36:55.160 your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the 00:36:55.159 --> 00:37:04.339 earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:12.500 Why does the Lord dry up the waters? Why does the Lord put his strong hand, his sovereign hand, 00:37:12.839 --> 00:37:19.339 among his people and work in their lives in these mighty ways? It's so that all the peoples of the 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:27.680 earth may fear the Lord forever. So I believe Naomi is witnessing to Ruth. Ruth is learning now to have 00:37:27.680 --> 00:37:35.800 a high view of the sovereignty of God, and she says, I want to walk in this way of life with such a God. 00:37:37.160 --> 00:37:41.079 So look at verse 14. They lifted up their eyes and wept again, 00:37:41.079 --> 00:37:49.579 but then we see a difference in the response between the two women. We're told Orpah kissed her 00:37:49.579 --> 00:37:56.739 mother-in-law. So Orpah, after seeing the way of life, to an extent at least, and assessing the cost, 00:37:57.579 --> 00:38:03.500 she took Naomi up on the offer. Don't do this for me. You have my blessing. You go back to a place where 00:38:03.500 --> 00:38:09.159 you have security, where you can get a husband, a home, a family. You can actually survive, 00:38:09.159 --> 00:38:14.639 and I bless you in doing that. And Orpah graciously accepted that and said her goodbyes. But look at 00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:23.420 the next few words. But Ruth clung to her. Well, the verb we've emphasized so far is to turn, 00:38:23.659 --> 00:38:29.159 repent, return. But you need to also circle now this verb, because this verb is for you. 00:38:29.799 --> 00:38:34.279 If you are walking with Christ, you need now to do like Ruth and cling to her. 00:38:34.280 --> 00:38:44.780 See, Ruth was compelled, maybe by an unexplainable reason. We know it's the Holy Spirit drawing his 00:38:44.780 --> 00:38:52.000 own to cling to Naomi. And here's the encouragement, because maybe you're feeling like you've been a 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:58.320 prodigal. Maybe you're feeling like you've wasted years of your life, and you want so much for God to 00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:04.280 use you now. How can you use me, Lord? Here's the encouragement. If you're like Naomi, a prodigal 00:39:04.280 --> 00:39:12.320 that God has brought back, when God turns a prodigal back to himself, he draws a new convert along with 00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:18.700 him. If God is drawing you back, your repentance, your returning to God, it proclaims the gospel and 00:39:18.700 --> 00:39:23.700 the sovereignty of God to all the nations. And he will draw others in, maybe your own family, 00:39:23.699 --> 00:39:30.379 maybe your children. What a wonderful promise. But that verb, to cling, like Ruth, I couldn't let it 00:39:30.379 --> 00:39:37.039 go. I did a little study. And in the Old Testament, the verb to cling, to cling on to something like 00:39:37.039 --> 00:39:42.480 that, I believe it's always used when the person is in a life or death situation. That's when they 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:48.799 cling on. And the ironic thing is that for Ruth, going with Naomi was the way of death by worldly 00:39:48.799 --> 00:39:53.539 standards. It means like you're dying. It reminds me of when Jesus said, whoever will come after 00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:59.940 me must take up his cross. This is the way of death to the world. And that's what Naomi, that's 00:39:59.940 --> 00:40:07.420 what Ruth clung on to by following Naomi. Take, for example, 2 Samuel 23. We're told that among the 00:40:07.420 --> 00:40:15.500 mighty men of David, there was a man named Eleazar. And we're told that Eleazar's hand clung to his sword. 00:40:15.759 --> 00:40:20.599 You see that life and death situation? He's surrounded by the enemies and he's clinging to his sword. 00:40:20.599 --> 00:40:27.039 And the Lord brought about a great victory that day. And the men returned after him only to strip 00:40:27.039 --> 00:40:33.619 the slain. So life or death, trusting in God, the Lord gives a victory and the army of God returns. 00:40:34.460 --> 00:40:40.119 You see the similarity? He's clinging and they return. I'll give you another example from the Old 00:40:40.119 --> 00:40:46.699 Testament. 1 Kings 11, 2. This is King Solomon and it's a negative example. He'd come from this line as 00:40:46.699 --> 00:40:53.939 well. King Solomon, we're told he loved many foreign women, including Moabitess women who had 00:40:53.939 --> 00:41:00.879 not repented and become part of the blessed people. And in verse 2, we're told that from the nations, 00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:06.199 which the Lord had said, you shall not enter into marriage with them, neither they with you, for surely, 00:41:06.619 --> 00:41:14.199 listen to this, surely these other nations, these other women will turn away your heart after their 00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:21.119 gods. You will start putting your hope and trust in false gods, not in the true God. But Solomon clung 00:41:21.119 --> 00:41:28.839 to these in love. He's going to control the kingdom. It's life or death in his mind. He has to be in charge. 00:41:29.439 --> 00:41:35.099 And he had 700 wives who were princesses and 300 concubines. And listen to what happened according to 00:41:35.099 --> 00:41:44.739 1 Kings. His wives turned away his heart. So what you cling to, your heart follows. 00:41:46.799 --> 00:41:51.019 Well, I want to give you one example of clinging in the New Testament. It's the only one I could find 00:41:51.019 --> 00:41:57.639 in Acts chapter 3. There was a blind man sitting at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms. 00:41:57.639 --> 00:42:05.559 And we're told that when the Lord made this blind man to see, all the people were surrounding him in 00:42:05.559 --> 00:42:12.639 amazement at what had happened. And this blind man who could now see clung to Peter and John. 00:42:14.079 --> 00:42:20.219 And the blind man would not let go of them. And the conflict escalates even more. And you go down 00:42:20.219 --> 00:42:24.739 to verse 19. Listen to what Peter does next. As this man's clinging to them for life and death, 00:42:24.739 --> 00:42:34.419 Peter stood up and preached to the crowd, repent, therefore, and turn back that your sins may be 00:42:34.419 --> 00:42:42.579 blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord because he has sent Christ 00:42:42.579 --> 00:42:52.979 the appointed one for you. Only the hungry turn to get bread from the hand of God. And if God is 00:42:52.980 --> 00:43:01.400 letting you hunger, it's because he wants you to cling to the bread of life that he sends from heaven for you. 00:43:04.179 --> 00:43:06.480 Turn back to Psalm 118. 00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:15.059 If you're a convert and you were clinging to sin and to the world, but now God has given you a new heart 00:43:15.059 --> 00:43:22.679 like he did to Ruth. And if you want more and more to cling to Jesus, then you too can pray from Psalm 118. 00:43:22.980 --> 00:43:29.579 Look at verse 19. And now I want you to picture Ruth now. All she's known is the land of Moab, 00:43:29.659 --> 00:43:35.059 of darkness, of idolatry. And she now gets to be in the presence of the Lord from where refreshment 00:43:35.059 --> 00:43:40.579 comes. When God is the King, there is blessing and pleasantness. And this can be your prayer as well. 00:43:41.119 --> 00:43:43.800 Psalm 118, starting at verse 19. 00:43:43.800 --> 00:43:51.720 Open to me the gates of righteousness that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 00:43:52.060 --> 00:44:00.620 This is the gate of the Lord. Who is the gate, Jesus said? Jesus, I am the gate. Enter through me. The gate is 00:44:00.620 --> 00:44:13.460 open wide to you. Enter through it. Verse 21. I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:20.720 Not just the salvation for your people or for Naomi or for Ruth. Christ is becoming your salvation as you 00:44:20.720 --> 00:44:28.780 enter the presence of God through him by faith. Praise him for the salvation we enjoy. Verse 22. 00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:36.060 If you had any doubt if this is talking about Christ, verse 22. The stone that the builders rejected has 00:44:36.059 --> 00:44:42.299 become the cornerstone. See, Jesus is now the foundation. He is the one upon whom the kingdom 00:44:42.299 --> 00:44:49.880 of heaven is built on earth. And this is the Lord's doing. Naomi does not get any glory for returning. 00:44:50.699 --> 00:44:55.360 Ruth does not get any glory for being saved or for being the one through whom the seed would come. 00:44:55.980 --> 00:45:00.659 This is the Lord's doing. And to all whose eyes have been opened, you can behold, 00:45:00.659 --> 00:45:09.719 this is marvelous in our eyes as well, isn't it? This is the day. Yes, even today, dear church, 00:45:09.839 --> 00:45:16.639 this is the day the Lord has made. He's the creator of heaven and earth and our help is in him. 00:45:17.039 --> 00:45:25.659 So let us rejoice and be glad. Save us, we pray, oh Lord. Are you hungry for Christ today? 00:45:25.659 --> 00:45:35.599 Cling to the bread of heaven and let Christ nourish you every day. Take him in. Let him change you. Let him 00:45:35.599 --> 00:45:43.519 sustain you through those darkest hours. Let's pray from 2 Thessalonians 2. 00:45:43.519 --> 00:45:58.639 O God, I give thanks to you for your church who you have said is beloved by the Lord, because God has 00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:05.519 chosen you as the first fruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 00:46:06.259 --> 00:46:11.719 And to this you have called us through the gospel that we may obtain the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:46:11.719 --> 00:46:20.699 So then help us, Holy Spirit, to stand firm and to cling, to hold on to the truth, the body of biblical 00:46:20.699 --> 00:46:28.480 doctrine that you have taught us through Jesus Christ so that we can enjoy life in Christ as our King, we pray. Amen. 00:46:31.359 --> 00:46:35.439 We'll take a few moments to prepare yourself for the Lord's Supper. 00:46:35.439 --> 00:46:35.559 Amen.